GLOSS:

"Glossing" is what you call it when you write one language in another.
The written information is known as "gloss."

When we see someone signing and we write it down or type it out sign
for sign and include various notations to account for the facial and
body grammar that goes with the signs--we are "glossing ASL."

When you gloss, you are not trying to interpret a language. Rather you are attempting to
transcribe it. Your goal is to write it down, type it, or
otherwise
represent it in text form -- word for word.

So, why don't we just call it writing?

The difference between "writing in a language" and "glossing of a
language" has to do with the fact that the target language may not have
equivalent words to represent the original language.

For example, in American Sign Language (ASL) we have a sign known as "PAH!"
Loosely translated it means "At last! Finally! Success! Ta da! Voilà!
Presto!) This "sign" requires a plosive sound to be made as if saying "pah!"
(Which makes the gloss of PAH! a rather obvious choice.) ASL also
uses special signs known as ASL
classifiers that are
difficult to write in English. For example, there is a sign that uses a
"3-handshape" which is commonly used to represent "vehicles." This sign
not only represents a vehicle but it also can include information
regarding the location, orientation, speed, direction, and movement path
of the vehicle.

This sign is glossed as 3-CL: "additional information goes here."
Example: 3-CL: "goes uphill"
You might also see a "classifier 3" glossed as "CL-3" or "CL:3."

Glossing allows researchers (and students) to make notes in their own
language regarding the second language. For example, an
English-speaking researcher would use gloss to transcribe the "clicks"
of the tongue that occur in the Bantu languages of South Africa (such as
Zulu).

"!"
When a sign gloss has an "!" exclamation point after it that means you
should emphasize the sign. Sign it a bit faster, stronger, or more
exaggerated than normal.

"#"
The # symbol, which goes by many names, (number sign, crosshatch
character, pound sign, hash, octothorpe, etc.) is used to indicate the
lexicalization of a fingerspelled word. (For example: #ALL, #WHAT,
#BUSY). When you "lexicalize" a fingerspelled word, you mutate the
spelling so that it is produced more like a sign than a fingerspelled
word.

"QM-wiggle"
The gloss: "qm-w" stands for "question mark wiggle." That is the
process of holding an "x" hand up at the end of a sentence and wiggling
the index finger (flexing it a few times.).

DASHES: When you see dashes between letters, that generally means to fingerspell the
word.
Also, sometimes you might see "fs" when someone is writing about ASL. The letters "fs" are
sometimes used as a shorthand for "fingerspell."

IX The "IX" stands for "INDEX." Which means to point toward
a certain location, object, or person.

"CL" When you see a "CL" it generally refers to a "classifier."
3-CL: "additional information goes here." Example: 3-CL:
"goes uphill" You might also see a "classifier 3" glossed as "CL-3"
or "CL:3."

DASHES: When you see dashes between letters, that generally means to fingerspell the
word.
Also, sometimes you might see "fs." The letters "fs" are
sometimes used as a shorthand for "fingerspell."

What is another name for the rules that researchers have
generally agreed upon for typical or standard ways to do things? *
conventions

What term means choosing an appropriate English word for signs in
order to write them down? * Glossing

When glossing, what do we represent with small capital letters
preceded by the # symbol? * lexicalized fingerspelled words

What do we call the facial expressions that accompany certain signs?
* Nonmanual signals (or nonmanual markers, or NMMs)

What kind of features are indicated on a line above sign glosses? *
Nonmanual signals and eye gaze

When glossing, what do we use “small
capital letters" in English to represent? * Signs

When glossing, what is represented by dashes between small capital
letters? * full fingerspellling

What are some glossed examples of lexicalized fingerspellling? *
#WHAT, #BURN, #ALL

Note: The GLOSS label of an ASL sign doesn't equal "English." For
example, the sign glossed as "FINE" doesn't mean all of the things
that the English word "fine" means. I wouldn't use the sign FINE to
sign, "I paid the fine for my ticket." The sign glossed as "GLASSES"
also means: Gallaudet University, Thomas Gallaudet, and Moses.

Sample gloss: YESTERDAY PRO-1 INDEX-[at] WORK HAPPEN SOMEONE!
MAN CL:1-"walked_past_quickly" I NEVER SEE PRO-3 BEFORE. That
sentence would be generally mean: "Yesterday at work a stranger
(some guy I've never seen before) rushed past me.

Dr. Bill's new iPhone "Fingerspelling Practice" app is
now available!
GET IT HERE!